Peace of Mind
by Kirenza
Summary: It was funny, Shion thought, how Nezumi could go from his usual snarky demeanor to such a caring and gentle one. And only around him, no less. Nezumi/Shion oneshot.


**A/N:** I just watched No. 6! Aaaaaa, what a good show. Nezumi and Shion are both so sweet, but can still kick some major tail.

It's a little short, but I had a ton of fun writing this! I always struggle with how to end things, so sorry if the ending seems kind of abrupt. ;; (This takes place after they go to the cave and Nezumi sings, but before they head off to the correctional facility and everything.)

This has Nezumi/Shion in it, of course, but it's nothing major.

* * *

It was a dull ache at the front of his head, faint but still present enough to distract him from simple tasks. Constantly he was forced to push aside whatever he was working on to rub at his forehead and hope that would assuage the pain. For a while it worked, but then it would seep back again just as he began to focus. With a sigh Shion set the book aside and leaned back on the couch. He placed a hand over his eyes to block out the light and massage his temples. The ache had begun to affect the rest of his body, feeling his throat start to tighten and his nerves tingle like hundreds of pin pricks on his skin.

A creak sounded as the door opened, the noise causing Shion's brow to crease. Boots thumped softly as Nezumi made his way about the place, fabric rustling as he tossed his coat and scarf aside like he always did. When silence had settled over the room once more Shion slowly removed his hand and cracked his eyelids open. Nezumi had come to crouch beside him, concern written on his face.

"What's wrong?" Nezumi spoke.

"Oh, just a headache." Shion let his eyes close again.

He started when he felt a hand press against his forehead. Just when he had begun to soak in the coolness of the skin, Nezumi shifted it away. "No fever. Are you getting enough to drink?"

Now that he thought about it, his throat _was_ a bit dry. He cringed a little as he swallowed. "Some water might be a good idea."

The dark-haired boy departed the room once more. After a moment something came to rest on his shoulder, a tiny squeak sounding near his ear. He straightened and held a hand up to it. Hamlet's paws tickled his skin as it skittered onto his palm and stood erect, tilting its head and twitching its nose.

"Here to keep me company?" he teased, rubbing the fur between its ears. It squeaked and leaned into his touch, and Shion couldn't help but chuckle.

The rat scurried away when the door opened and Nezumi returned with a mug. He passed it off to Shion as he sat beside him on the couch, and Shion touched his lips to the rim, slowly tilting it back and letting the water rush down. Before he knew it half of the mug had been emptied. With a sigh he set it on the table and wiped away the water at his lips with his sleeve.

"Better?"

Shion nodded. "A little bit. Headache's still there, though."

For a moment Nezumi remained quiet. When Shion glanced his way, he found him to be rather contemplative, as though trying to formulate a plan. But soon his expression softened and he smiled, leaning back and patting his lap.

"Lay down."

"Nezumi?"

"This'll help. Go ahead." Shion hesitantly curled up on the couch and rested his head atop Nezumi's leg, staring ahead at the bookcases. A hand rested atop his shoulder and began to push it down, Shion not realizing how hunched his posture had become. "Just relax."

He did just that, letting his eyes slowly slip closed as he concentrated on slowing his breathing down, tried not to focus so much on that ache pulsing through his head. Fingertips tickled his scalp and worked through his hair then. Quietly he laughed as he remembered how his mother had done that before when he was a child, remembered the soft bristles of a brush running through his tangled bedhead.

_"Soul carried away by the wind..."_

Shion perked up a little, eyes opening to the dimly lit room as the soft timbre of Nezumi's voice filled the quiet. Those fingers continued to run through his hair again and again, and his eyes closed, the melody and Nezumi's light touch starting to draw his worries away. His head still spun, but at least now it was tolerable with Nezumi there to comfort him. When the melody had reached its end Nezumi began anew and hummed the notes this time around. It was funny, Shion thought, how he could go from his usual snarky demeanor to such a caring and gentle one. And only around him, no less. Though Shion supposed he was the same; those metaphorical masks they wore around others crumbled when it was just the two of them, alone, with nothing else to worry about.

Nezumi eventually moved his hand away to rest it atop his arm instead. Shion took that as a sign to sit up, and as he did so opened his eyes to find a handful of rats had come to sit on the table and listen. He blinked, glancing from them to Nezumi.

"They like to listen to me sing," he explained, reaching out to scratch behind Cravat's ears.

"I don't blame them. You have a wonderful voice, Nezumi. Thank you."

He merely smiled in reply and stood. "Well, it's about time for dinner."

"Oh, I'll help!"

Nezumi held out his hand as Shion began to rise. "No. You just sit back."

"But you helped me out. I feel better now, really. So please let me return the favor." A half-truth. He could still feel that ache, but it had grown faint enough to ignore for the most part.

Nezumi started at him for a moment, at war with his thoughts, but soon he sighed and relaxed. "All right. You get the pots ready. I'll take care of the cooking tonight."

Shion got to work right away, digging out the pots and proper utensils as Nezumi left to retrieve water to boil. As Shion moved around the room one of the rats scurried up to his shoulder and sat there to watch, squeaking quietly all the while. He held a finger up to it and laughed as it prodded at him with its snout. "He's something else, eh, Cravat?" The tawny mouse wormed its head under his finger for him to pet it. "It may not be as tidy here as in No. 6, but I think I like it that way. There's something cozy about it."

He wouldn't mind actually living here. If Nezumi could get along all these years in a place as run-down as this, then Shion was sure he could as well. Maybe bring down his mother and Safu too, show them the marketplace and all of Inukashi's dogs.

A foolish dream, perhaps. But it didn't hurt to think about it, right?


End file.
